The crimson mist churns a hundred miles from shore, red with the blood of a butchered world. Here in the Sunset Isles the last fragments of humanity struggle to withstand the fury of the native Shou and the corruption within their own divided ranks. Hard-eyed men and women brood in the waterfront dives and shabby tea houses, selling their swords for a few bright coins or the promise of a dead man's treasures. In the wilderness, the lost cities of vanished empires and fallen races lie deep within the jungle shroud, and the desperate efforts of colonists and refugees strain to contain the horrors that threaten on every side.

It is a time for legends. It is a time for fearless warriors and eldritch adepts to rise from this hard-pressed people and defend them from the nightmare that threatens to engulf them all. The wealth of ages awaits those steely souls with the courage to cast down the guardians and break the vaults of the festering dead. A new world struggles to be born from the red ruin of the old. It is in need of scarlet heroes.

Scarlet Heroes is an old-school tabletop role-playing game designed to provide classic sword and sorcery gaming for one player and one gamemaster. Unlike most other RPGs, Scarlet Heroes is built to support one-on-one play, with no need for a full-fledged party of adventurers to provide an evening's entertainment. Whether for a spouse, kid, curious friend, or just as an alternative to boardgames for those nights when only one or two friends can make it to the gaming session, Scarlet Heroes gives you the tools for good old-fashioned skull-cracking adventure.

Scarlet Heroes can be used both as a stand-alone RPG and as an overlay over your favorite old-school game to make its adventures playable for single PCs or very small groups. It shares the same classic statistics and basic game mechanisms as these old-school favorites, but by changing the interpretation of these numbers it makes it possible for a single courageous adventurer to dare perils that would otherwise threaten a half-dozen freebooters. With Scarlet Heroes, a GM can pull out a favorite module, grab a convenient friend, and a have a full night's adventure with no tweaking, alteration, or adjustment of the material needed.

Inside the pages of this book, you'll find...

A full stand-alone RPG system that can also be used as an overlay atop most popular old-school games.

The Red Tide campaign setting as a default for the game, with a full bestiary of Southeast Asian-inspired monsters, suitable new magic items, and a full list of new cleric and magic-user spells for that setting.

Solo adventure tools for genuine single-player RPG gaming. Mix your own creativity with table results to create a narrative for your own hero's adventure... or use them as inspiration in crafting something for a group.

Five crisp new maps by Dyson Logos, unkeyed and ready to be filled by your own creativity.

More than a thousand backers supported the Kickstart that funded the creation of Scarlet Heroes and now the book is available to the wider world. Seize this world of red adventure and be armed against the coming night!

Is there a dungeon generator in this book? As in can you create, room by room a dungeon using random dice rolls?

C. A. SFebruary 19, 2018 4:49 am UTC

PURCHASER

Yes. While it only has one pre-written mini-adventure, it's got random generation tables in spades. Specifically for dungeons, there are separate tables for room content, features, hazards, treasure, encounters, and denizens, with further rolling tables for denizens' allegiance, behavior, combat quirks, and special abilities.

Colbert RJanuary 03, 2018 12:15 am UTC

Has anyone used Scarlet Heroes to run 5e modules like Out of the Abyss etc?

Joseph MMay 12, 2017 12:58 am UTC

Would this system work for a sci-fi setting, like Starships and Spacemen?

Carl MJanuary 28, 2017 9:12 am UTC

Sorry if this is obvious: Does Scarlet Heroes include all the material in the Red Tide Setting sourcebook or do I need to buy both to run it effectively? I do intend to use Red Tide but I don't want to double up on anything unnecessarily.

C. A. SJanuary 10, 2017 8:08 pm UTC

PURCHASER

If I'm planning a storyline-based game, how can I tell what monsters would make a difficult-but-not-impossible challenge? Is there a way to figure something like DnD's CR for the monsters in this book's bestiary?

Chris SJuly 30, 2014 11:33 pm UTC

I know the game's intended for solo heroes, but would you be able to have a party of adventurers with Scarlet Heroes?

Alessio SSeptember 06, 2014 7:33 pm UTC

Yes, Chris. If you read the rules, you'll find that Scarlet Heroes can be played easily with two players and 1 GM or, with some adaptations, three players and 1 GM.
Anyway, up to two players and 1 GM it's perfect.

Levy KMay 12, 2014 1:36 am UTC

Does this book require Labyrinth Lords? I know the Red Tides core book did and I want to make sure before I buy it.

Christopher FMay 13, 2014 2:38 am UTC

PURCHASER

Hey Levy,

Scarlet Heroes does not require Labyrinth Lord to play; it a nifty standalone RPG set in the Red Tide campaign setting. FYI.

This is a really good solo/single player system. It is well thought out, with consideration given to all the aspects of one player combating a large number of foes. The weakest part of the game is the attempt at a setting (the World of the Red Tide) wh [...]

I am enjoying reading this game very much! excellent product indeed. Im very glad to see there is also a section on playing GM less, as i have no current group. I am happy with my purchase, thanks for a great game! There is also a community on Google [...]

Kevin Crawford has yet to come out with a product that disappoints me. Scarlet Heroes is an easy-to-learn old-school game with an elegant set of mechanics that are both easy to implement and a joy to run. With an intriguing setting which mashes [...]

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